Senate Majority Leader Ellen M. Corbett (D-East Bay) announced on March 25, 2014 that Governor Jerry Brown signed an important bipartisan bill that will allow Archimandrite Theodor Micka, who has been the Abbot at the Holy Cross Monastery in Castro Valley since its founding, to be buried on the monasteryÕs grounds.ÊDue to Abbot TheodorÕs terminal illness, the monks at the Holy Cross Monastery requested that Senator Corbett assist in fulfilling the ailing religious leaderÕs wish to be buried on the monasteryÕs grounds.Ê In order to expedite the request through the legislative process, Senator Corbett introduced urgency legislationÑSB 124Ñthat granted this specified permission.ÊHoly Cross Monastery serves Orthodox Christians of all ethnic backgrounds and is the only Orthodox monastery in the San Francisco Bay Area.Ê Along with the monkÕs daily prayers, they also provide weekly services, baptisms, weddings and memorial services for Orthodox Christians in the region.

Students at the Stanford Law School Religious Liberty Clinic worked closely with the Holy Cross Monastery to originally present and advocate for this legislative request to Senator Corbett for consideration prior to the introduction of SB 124.